Jeremiah Ani (born 12 February 1985 in

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade center and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern state ...

) is a Nigerian international

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

with Maltese citizenship, he is currently plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for Luqa St Andrews Fc. He plays as a striker/winger.

Career

He started his youth football with Black Gold FC and Adamawa United FC respectively. In 2002, he moved to

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, signing for Naxxar Lions where he scored 18 goals in 16 league games that year and was so the top scorer of the First division in 2004. He was then attracting interest from top clubs in Malta such as Valletta F.C., Sliema Wanderers F.C. and clubs from Cyprus. He then signed for Valletta F.C. After leaving Valletta FC, he joined Al Ittihad Kalba in Dubai (U.A.E) on a 6-month deal. He moved back to Malta and joined Kercem Ajax F.C. He scored 18 goals to win the top scorer of the 2007 Div 1 League. He then attracted the interests of some clubs in Italy, Portugal and Russia. He is a Forward (association football), power forward who has been compared to Didier Drogba, Drogba, with his style of play. He played in the Portuguese Super Liga after signing a 3-year contract with Estrela da Amadora;. After Impressing in trials with Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace, Plymouth Argyle F.C., Plymouth Argyle and Notts County F.C., Notts County, after much negotiations, with Notts County and Argyle unable to reach a deal to sign the forward, Ani signed with Rotherham United F.C., Rotherham United, to start his first spell in English football. He made his debut for the Millers in their 1–0 win over Lincoln City F.C., Lincoln City in the Football League Trophy on 31 August 2010. He also played for APOP Kinyras FC in the top league of Cyprus. In 2012, he moved back to Malta and joined Sliema Wanderers F.C. In January 2014, Ani joined Maltese First Division side Pieta' Hotspurs and made his debut on Wednesday 22 January 2014 in a Trophy match, with his side beating Hiberians F.C.

International career

He featured for the U-17 junior national team of Nigeria. Ani was involved in the buildup to the 2008 Olympic games for Nigeria U-23 national side, as he was regularly called up to the national side by Samson Siasia, who was the head coach. He featured for the Nigerian Olympic squad in 2008. He was also part of the Nigerian U-23 team that won the Intercontinental Cup in Malaysia in 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ani, Jeremiah 1985 births Living people Nigerian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Naxxar Lions F.C. players Valletta F.C. players Kerċem Ajax F.C. players Primeira Liga players C.F. Estrela da Amadora players Veikkausliiga players Rovaniemen Palloseura players Rotherham United F.C. players APOP Kinyras FC players Sliema Wanderers F.C. players Pietà Hotspurs F.C. players Gżira United F.C. players Marsaxlokk F.C. players Cypriot First Division players Olympic footballers for Nigeria Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Malta Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Malta Footballers from Kaduna 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Finland